Browsed byCategory: Arduino

This will be the last post on the subject of interfacing the First Alert CO Detector with a wireless ESP8266 module. The limits of the ESP8266 and lower costs of the higher functioning ESP32 module prove that this effort is not worth continuing. I will say that the overall simplicity of this project should provide a firm footing for future projects. The process from start to finish can be applied to any number of electronic devices. So with that said,…

“No changes are permanent, but change is” – Neil Peart Rush, Tom Sawyer It’s been quite sometime since my last post, my apologizes. I won’t be diving right back into the CO Detector project just yet. First, I’d like to cover some developments that have occurred the past two months. Late in April, there were updates available to my WordPress site. Updates are a constant flow and this was just another routine bit of work for maintaining the site. The…

In this post, I’ll be begining to cover the Arduino code used to program the ESP8266, as it pertains to the CO Detector. Most of what I’ll be going over here is based off of Rui and Sara Santos’s work at https://randomnerdtutorials.com/about/. They have done a tremendous amount of work and deserve the attention for it. The ESP8266 will be replacing the ins and outs to the CO Detector. Besides the typical operation of the CO Detector, we’ll need to…

In this post I’ll be covering the theory of operation in regard to interfacing the ESP8266 with the CO Detector. The first item that should be covered before actually creating the code to program the ESP8266 for use in the CO Detector is to define the operation. This is a blueprint that lays out what we expect the CO Detector to do when interfaced with the ESP8266. It also helps us develop the code we’ll eventually write. Basically, we’re trying…

In this post I’ll be covering the programing of the ESP8266 with the Arduino IDE The first step is to download and install the Arduino IDE, go to https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software. It is at version 1.8.5 as of this writing. Refer to the online guide for install steps, https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/HomePage. Once installed, you’ll need to be sure that your have the needed rights to run and upload sketches. On Linux systems, your user account will need to be a member of the dialout…

With many devices becoming connect to the internet, I thought it would be worthwhile to interface the CO Detector that I’ve been covering using a wireless ESP8266 board. There are several IoT services that make connecting devices as streamlined as possible. In this post. I’ll be covering IFTTT, a cloud based service that will perform an action based on a condition. The ESP8266 board I’m using has 2 GPIO pins that I would like to use to interface with the…

Several years ago I purchased a small video camera that was shaped like a flashlight for $50. It had VGA 640 x 480 30 fps video quality and would record up to 2 hours on a single charge. I used it to record several bike rides around the county on numerous bike trails. The videos provided a way to recall the conditions and experiences which I used to plan future trips. A couple of years later I purchased some 808…

This project involves working near and around the electrical service panel. Do not perform these steps unless you are a licensed and qualified electrician. You assume all risk and liability. The information contained here is merely for reference purposes, I do not take any responsibility for the loss of property or life should anyone not follow this warning. Home energy use accounts for 11% of the total energy consumed nation wide. Typically, homes have a variety of energy services provided…

During hot days, the air in my attic can reach temperatures much higher than the outside. This causes the rest of the house to warm up. As a result, cooling the living space requires more energy. To prevent this, I use gable fans to force the hot air from the attic to the outside. I have two fans, each located either on the east or west side of the house. Each fan has an independent thermostat that engaged the fan…

I’ve got two wall mounted space heaters made by King Electric. They are the Pick-O-Watt series and have a built in thermostat for control. They are easy to install and the option to set the load is useful. Setting the output wattage to match the room they are installed in saves energy. However, they were not centrally controlled. If one was left on, energy was wasted and is potentially dangerous. I wanted to avoid this. First, lets look at how…